tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post129434987560965049..comments2023-08-10T04:03:44.387-04:00Comments on This Book and I Could Be Friends: "the only thing worth while is the feel of the unique"Eileenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058705381647529328noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-20156848677417557092010-07-23T10:47:32.416-04:002010-07-23T10:47:32.416-04:00Alas! This comment is very late! I have been going...Alas! This comment is very late! I have been going in and out of bloggyland the past weeks..<br /><br />Like Emily, I appreciate your touching on the ironies and contradictions of Toledano's ideas.. it irked me sometimes.. and though some of what he said were scoff-worthy, there are so many other things I did agree with, however..clairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14397226316253896335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-1187503326749990352010-07-02T15:39:40.904-04:002010-07-02T15:39:40.904-04:00I like your line about a "memoir as monologue...I like your line about a "memoir as monologue," E.L. Fay! With a little more distance between this read and me, though, I'm beginning to think of Toledano's rambling on not so much as a good or bad thing intrinsically so much as a necessary airing out of ideas prior to writing. His walking companion/sidekick/listener completes him in that regard in terms of the creative process, wouldn't you agree? I did enjoy quite a few of Toledano's nuggets, too, such as his opinion that good literature need not be all grim and depressing but could be something fun like Raymond Queneau. I think that's a good reminder even though I'm often drawn to the grim and depressing literature myself for some reason!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-87283967560252174372010-07-01T13:25:28.964-04:002010-07-01T13:25:28.964-04:00For what it's worth I think Toledano is a pret...<i>For what it's worth I think Toledano is a pretty accurate portrait of a person of privilege who doesn't necessarily REALIZE that's what they're advocating when they bitch & moan about "deteriorating standards" or whatever.</i><br /><br />Yes, and that's another major irony I forgot to bring up. He's so privileged to the point where he's basically advocating for people to shut up unless they meet his exact criteria of what constitutes a talented writer with something worth writing about. And since he complains so much about modern literature's alleged reliance on suffering, he's practically erasing the experiences of entire groups of people. And yet he himself comes from a marginalized, persecuted background. So like you said, followed to their logical conclusion, some of his ideas really make no sense.Eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11058705381647529328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687975489922145220.post-36930911314619194872010-07-01T12:47:20.554-04:002010-07-01T12:47:20.554-04:00I'm glad you articulated some of the contradic...I'm glad you articulated some of the contradictions involved in Toledano's "the kids these days" attitudes re: the modern state of publishing/art/England/etc., because that was one of the more annoying aspects of his character as far as I was concerned, and it's interesting to dig into that a little bit. I found myself reluctantly agreeing with/relating to certain elements of these jeremiads (the unattractiveness of an author milking a tragedy publicly for financial gain, for example), while violently disagreeing with other claims (like that reclusive authors would necessarily be more "authentic" - which in any case seems at odds with his "all experience is equally authentic" idea). And, like you, I think some of his claims lead to ridiculous conclusions if followed to their logical conclusion - of course we shouldn't be limiting literature to one set of experiences or the other. For what it's worth I think Toledano is a pretty accurate portrait of a person of privilege who doesn't necessarily REALIZE that's what they're advocating when they bitch & moan about "deteriorating standards" or whatever.Emilyhttp://www.eveningallafternoon.comnoreply@blogger.com